2016: A Year in Review

2016: A Year in Review It’s that time of year again. It’s time to look back over the past 12 months and make plans for the year coming up. This year was, by all accounts, highly successful and I am incredibly grateful for all of those who have helped me along the way. There is no doubt, I CRUSHED my goals and am very satisfied with my accomplishments. If there is a theme to 2016, it is “new adventures”. 2016 brought me to new places, found me participating in new activities and offered me great opportunities to train. Much like last year, the growing writing endeavors allowed me to research and test survival skills and information. As always, presenting what I found in a text and photo format was the challenge but ultimately it makes me a better instructor when I’m not bound by still photos and word limits.

2016 was a year of adventure and it was also a year of new friendships. I worked with more companies this year bringing their gear into the wild and testing it out. When possible, I was able to feature the best of the best gear in magazine articles for my readers to see what worked for me. My philosophy on testing and evaluation has always stayed the same; make it real! Many manufacturers realized the authenticity to my work and the extra mile I was willing to travel to get them the honest feedback backyard/basement reviews can’t match. Even though I cut back on instruction, I managed to meet some fantastic new folks as students in the courses I did offer or attendees at the seminars where I was a presenter. Attending trade shows, I met some really great people who I truly consider friends. Working as an editor for the first time, I was able to share the tricks and tips I’ve developed as a writer with the writers who contributed and now they are on their way in their own writing careers. At the end of the year, I know who is really with me going forward to even great adventures.

The Knives Illustrated Buyer’s Guide featured a full color spread of an article written by Kevin Estela called, “Knife Buying 101.”

2017 is only a few days away and there is already a growing number of days on my calendar filling up. Look for Estela Wilderness Education events scattered around the country hosted by different friends of EWE. 2017 is also going to be filled with a few surprises. I’m working very closely with a couple companies and you’ll see some “Estela Inspired” products coming out on the market. These products are going to make survival and bushcraft much easier and they are inspired by countless hours in the field. You’re also going to see me in places you haven’t before. After hearing people ask one certain question over and over, I’ve decided to answer a particular call and am very happy with the product developed. I really wish I could disclose it all right now for an end of the year grand finale but for now, you’ll just have to wait and see what 2017 brings in time.

See ya 2016! Let’s make it happen in 2017! Time to get after it!

Travel-Attended the NRA Great American Outdoors Show in Harrisburg, PA and BLADE SHOW 2016 in Atlanta, GA-Traveled to British Columbia to discover the “Rambo Junkyard’, hiked the Stawamish Chief and skied Whistler-Traveled to Florida for Hog Hunting near Daytona-Spent 5 Weeks in Alaska (Anchorage, Seward, Fairbanks, Sag River through the Brooks Range with Mark Knapp) 3 of which were off-grid north withiin the Arctic circle-Filmed a pilot for the History Channel (Destination Top Secret) as Co-HostTraining:–Introduction to Survival and Bushcraft with Manchester, NH Sayoc Kali Training Group-Adirondack Sportsmen’s Dinner Guest Speaker–Gossman Knives Budget Bushcraft in Whiteford, MD-Mohawk Valley Budget Bushcraft-Team Newt (of Martin Knives) Fundraiser on Hawk Mountain, PA–IMBCT Intro to Survival Course in New Hartford, CT-Bristol, CT Police Explorers (Advisory role for specialized training)Published over 25 articles in –RECOIL–RECOIL/OFF-GRID–American Survival Guide–Knives Illustrated-Blogged bi-monthly for Fiddleback Forge-Served as Editor (first time editing a magazine!) for the American Survival Guide Prepper Field Manual Martial Arts Training